


Min and the Doctor

by DaynaWayna



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Light Angst, Regeneration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-01
Updated: 2014-03-01
Packaged: 2018-01-14 04:15:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1252411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaynaWayna/pseuds/DaynaWayna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the New Who FicOlympics on Tumblr. This is a story about a future incarnation of the Doctor and what the companion Min experiences when she watches 'her' Doctor regenerate into a new person. In my head, it's the 13th Doctor becoming the 14th. I hope you enjoy my first attempt at Doctor Who!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Min and the Doctor

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Notes
> 
> I wrote this for a challenge posted on Tumblr. I've never written Doctor Who, I don't know what possessed me or where it came from, but here it is. I just wrote it as it came and there's no beta, so I own all my mistakes. Writing style is quite different from normal, but when The Muse gives, you write and go with it.
> 
> Here's the rules, in case you're wondering:
> 
> While some of the world's greatest athletes join together in Sochi, Russia for the Winter Olympics, some of the world's finest fic writers will gather here to participate in the first-ever New Who Fic Olympics!
> 
> Just like in the actual games, Olympic ficletes will compete for their countries and teams. The teams are divided by pairing (such as the Australian Ten/Rose team or the American Amy/Rory team), and there is a General team for those who do not wish to write pairings.
> 
> Members of each team will then participate in up to two events: Conservative Curling, Junior Ski Jump, or Lusty Luge. The events correspond to fic ratings (all ages, teen, or adult), and ficletes enter/participate in the events by writing a fic with that specific rating.
> 
> At the end of the games, all fic will be placed in polls by team and event (ex: Canada's Ten/Rose Lusty Luge team will compete against all other Ten/Rose Lusty Luge teams, etc.) and voting will begin. The top three ficletes for each category will receive medals, promos, and love.
> 
> If you would like to read any of the other entries, here is the link to the main page: nwficolympics dot tumblr dot com. Voting is open until March 8th, 2014 I believe. And since the only other person I was competing against didn't submit a story, I won Gold! :D  
> \------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Title: Min and the Doctor**   
**Author: thecoolmomma**   
**Country: USA**   
**Team: General**   
**Event/Rating: **Conservative Curling****   
**Summary: Min has traveled with the Doctor for seven years and was with her when she regenerated… into a _man_.**

The Doctor winked at her as he closed the TARDIS door, and a moment later he was gone. Min looked at the empty space and shook her head, the bells in her hair laughing along with her. He was a clever man. But she much preferred the clever woman before him.

She had known about Time Lords and regeneration, and how The Doctor was gifted a new cycle, but she had never considered she had been anything other than female. So when she regenerated into a man Min was more than a bit surprised, and her normally vibrant dark purple hair faded to soft violet with uncertainty.

"Change it back, I don't like the color," the new Doctor had said after seeing her seated on the floor of the TARDIS, pointing to her hair.

"But, you're...  _Kalet moph_ , you're a male! I don't like it.  _You_  change back!"

The Doctor shook his head. "No can do sweet cheeks."

The orange blush rushed across her red face in guilty pleasure.  _Her_  Doctor called her that, an endearment from the planet Earth. But on her planet,  _Shwaee' Tchks_ was a very personal term used only for intimacy between couples and Min loved the utter rebellious shock value it had on the Elders in her tribe because the Doctor used it so causally, and females used an entirely different term with each other. But for a male,  _any_  male, to say that to a female out in public was sacrilege, and Min drew the line at offending The One Most High. Would this Doctor remember to honor The One? And now that the Doctor was male should he even call her that anymore?

Min was not a strong telepath, but once the Doctor had discovered her ability, she taught her companion how to mind-touch. He recognized that look in her eyes and cautiously reached out with his mind for hers. Since she was broadcasting loudly, he quickly picked up on the cause of her distress.  _Oh, that blasted phrase!_  He knew that he couldn't call her that anymore because he respected her, but he was going to miss it.

"Regeneration's more or less complete," he continued and nodded at the darkening hair. "And while I thoroughly enjoyed being a woman, it's good to be a man again. You're stuck with me. "

"But why did you become a woman in the first place?" Min stood and approached him, then reached out and touched the curly red hair on his head. "At least you kept it red."

"I'm still ginger? Wonderful!" He pranced around her as if she were a May Pole. "I'd always wondered about being a woman, actually. I wanted to see the world through female eyes for once; to see how much more good I could do in feminine form than male." He started patting down the blazer and skirt he was still wearing, muttering to himself before grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Ah ha! My sonic… lipstick? Oh that will never do. I need a screwdriver. And Jammie Babies. Um, no… Jelly Dodgers. Gah! Damn regeneration's gone and messed with my head. I need tannins, free radicals... gotta reverse the enzyme decay. Tea! I need Tea. One lump, no lemon, and just a smidge of cream. And cookie jams. No, not cookies, that's American... "

Min sighed. "Your koo-keys are in the library where you left them."

"No, not the cookies, Doll Face." Funny how a new endearment just rolled off his tongue. "I can call you Doll Face, can't I? It won't upset The One? I've upset plenty of gods before and not worried one bit for the consequences, but I rather like yours." She turned orange again, but this time with a hint of pink and he knew he'd pleased her.

"Dholl Face. Hm. No, I don't believe The One will have a problem with that. I can't think of anything in my language that it sounds like, so you're safe."

He clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "Now, about my babies, where are they?"

"Oh, you're not after the Sweet Infants, are you? Because I still think it's barbaric-"

"Yes! Jelly Babies! And for the last time it's  _just a name_. Now, where are they?"

"In the hidden compartment in the arm of the chair," she said, resigned to the fact that this Doctor was going to eat the infants too.

Min shook her head as the man literally bounced across the control room floor, landing squarely in what her Doctor had called 'the hot seat,' flipped open the arm rest and chortled victoriously. As he savored his treasure, she found the courage to ask him a difficult question.

"I don't want to sound rude… Doctor… but why didn't you stay a woman?"

"It was a nice change, but not all cultures value the female of their species, and that made things… well,  _you_  know."

She was so shocked by the insinuation that she marched over to him and smacked him in the face. "You of all people should know better! You small-minded, misogynistic-"

"Stop!" He grabbed a handful of her dark purple hair that hung below her ears and shook it to make the bells shriek. "Do not,  **ever** …"

 _How dare he insinuate he has authority over me!_ Min could feel her rage boiling and growled deep in her chest. He appeared just as angry as she was, but she accepted the challenge he presented. She lowered her eyes but made her left hand a fist and placed it in the center of her right palm, fingers stiff and spread wide and her bent elbows parallel to the ground. She would fight this new Doctor and make  _him_  earn the trust the woman before him had earned.

"My Doctor knew how personal it was to grab my  _lendeith_. I would not grab you between your legs, yet that is akin to what you have done. I will kill to regain my honor, understand that. I am not afraid of you. Let go, or die."

The man's grip tightened and he lifted the hair above her head. When it was taut he tugged once to pull her head up. Their eyes met. It was the first time Min had truly looked into his eyes and she was shocked at how something so alien to her could be so familiar, so …  _loving_. Everything was different, including his mind, but he allowed her to see his memories of their time together. She felt him loosen his grip as his hand slid up the hair to grab hold of the bells. There was the barest of smiles at the edge of his mouth as he held the bells and shook them in his closed hand. The hair attached to them, the  _lendeith_ , changed from dark purple to bright orange to pink. And then to blue; the exact color of his eyes.

" _Me'ney eeatoah_!" Min couldn't believe this was happening.  _Again_.

He looked at the blue  _lendeith_  and his eyebrows rose in surprise. "Well. Looks like we're still mates after all, Doll Face."

He loosened his grip on her hair and the bells tinkled as they fell. Min stared at him a moment before speaking. "You really are her. My Doctor." The bells on the  _lendeith_  chimed a sad note and a single large tear fell down her cheek. "How can I… you're a complete stranger, but you aren't. Why did you have to become male?"

The Doctor took her in his arms as he had done for the past seven years and started to sing one of the Meydidoian songs Min had taught him. Unfortunately, the tender moment was shattered by the yowling that came from his throat followed by a shriek of horror and then laughter from his companion.

"Well," he harrumphed as Min's hair became a kaleidoscope of colors, "how was I supposed to know I'd go from a first soprano to a bass?" Then he turned to the TARDIS console and started flipping switches and levers. "Lot of good you are, Miss Sassy Pants."

While it wasn't the comfort he'd intended to give, the familiar gesture of the embrace and song soothed his companion's heart. It took her a few minutes to stop laughing, but it was quite a while before her hair stopped changing colors.

Min watched him prance around the ship and shook her head. "You need to change your clothes," she said as she pointed to the very female ensemble he was wearing, "and then you need to show me your other male selves. It's only right and proper, if I'm going to continue traveling with you."

He stopped mid button punch and stared at her, then nodded. "Fair enough."

A few minutes later they were in the viewing room. Min was ensconced in an overstuffed oval couch watching the Doctor move from panel to screen setting things up. When he was done he handed her something he called a 'reemoat' with buttons on it to move forward and back between scenes.

"Okay. I've set it up for you. Only the best parts. I'll be in the closet if you need me." He was gone before she could utter a sound.

With a sigh and a tinkling of bells Min pushed the button marked 'play.'

She was fascinated from the start, even if it was difficult to comprehend that the woman she had travelled with for so long had a preference for being male. As she watched, she found it comforting to know that the Doctor always had companions around, and Min felt special knowing that while the male Doctor preferred human companionship, the woman had chosen  _her_. She was humanoid, but Min was decidedly not human.

It was most amusing to watch him appear to get younger with the first four regenerations, then settle down with a 'mature-but-not-too-old' look. Although she had to question his choice in clothing from time to time- The odd looking 'neck  _lendeith_?' A plant on his jacket? But nothing could compare to the glorious coat of colors in Min's eyes. That was a thing of beauty the likes she'd never seen before.

And then came the War Doctor. Thankfully there was no video, just a picture of an old, rugged warrior, and the new Doctor's voice explaining the Time War and what he had done. She felt saddened by his face, so care-worn and old; and the haunted look in his eyes turned her hair pale yellow. This ninth Doctor was so heartbreakingly alone she couldn't bear to see him any longer and closed her eyes to listen to his story.

The Doctor didn't dwell on this incarnation long, and then came the ninth regeneration into the tenth Doctor. Min could see the scars the Time War left on him and hoped he would find a companion again. She did catch glimpses of a woman with blonde hair, but the video never showed her face.

And then he regenerated again, this time as a very skinny man, looking young and sassy. And again, Min could tell that this eleventh doctor had companions, including the blonde woman, but the scenes focused on the Doctor and not others who traveled with him, with the exception of Captain Jack Harkness. She giggled at the memory of meeting the captain and her Doctor's suggestion (plus Jack's extreme excitement) that they all go back to his place for something called 'poker.' An odd game where you played with cards and the loser of each round removed an article of clothing.

The Doctor knew Min was afraid, so as they were walking to Jack's flat, she spoke to her friend by mind-touch.

_Okay Sweet Cheeks, here's the deal. Leave your mind open and I'll play cards for both of us. Flirt with him a little but be mysterious. Instead of taking off your clothes, we will entice him to have you show him a trick: make your bells sing or change your hair or skin color. He intends to bed us but do not worry, your chastity shall remain intact. The One won't mind a little game, yes? Good. You shall win and I shall "lose" and be bedded. Don't look at me like that, I've known this man for many, many years. I am perfectly safe with him, and outside of this game, so are you. Trust me, I'm The Doctor!_

"Now I understand," Min said as she watched Jack flirt with both the tenth and eleventh incarnations. "But I have to wonder if you ever told him who you really were that night."

His eleventh regeneration (or was it the twelfth? Did siphoning his energy into the hand count as regeneration? She'd have to ask him later) was the youngest looking since his fourth change and she smiled.

"I see now that you always had your vanity," Min said to the screen.

"Time Lords are unusually vain."

Min paused the playback and looked around for the owner of the voice. It sounded like her Doctor, but different; yet definitely a woman.

"Hello? Who's there?"

An image materialized in front of her of a human-looking woman with long curling brown hair, wearing a light blue dress with a bustle in the back. Min stood up and stared at the projection that was smiling back at her. She was shocked, but not frightened.

"I didn't know you could take human form." She knew in her soul who stood before her, and she was as beautiful as Min had imagined.

"I did once, when House forced me into this humanoid body.  _Klah ne'tya, Maoah Min_."

Bells danced as the tips of her hair turned TARDIS blue. No one but her father ever used that honorific for her, because he was the only one that knew, except for  _Her_. Min interlocked her fingers with the tops touching her palms, except for the second and sixth fingers which stood upright. She brought them to her lips and bowed.

" _Nee fae roch tamoan_... uh..."

"The Doctor calls me Sexy. Hm, no. This form was called Idris."

" _Nee fae roch tamoan, Idris TARDIS_."

Min smiled as the thrill of face to face communication with the TARDIS coursed through her body. She knew the ship was a living being because it had reached out to her once and touched her psyche when infected by a virus. It had been amazing and wonderful and terrifying all at the same time, and very nearly cost the Meydidoian her life.

Min had dealt with a similar computer attack on her home world and had the technical skill to help remove the virus, but because the TARDIS was alive, the virus attacked differently and with incomprehensible speed. No matter what Min did, she couldn't get the information to the Doctor fast enough. The TARDIS had sensed the telepathic ability in the Doctor's companion and took matters into her own hands, seeking out Min's mind.

As careful as She had been, the communication had been too much for the companion who collapsed the moment the link between them was broken. The TARDIS deeply regretted the pain she caused her, and was grateful to the Doctor for not chastising Her for providing familiar scents and sounds in Min's room while she recovered.

The connection had been different with Rose, that beautiful young girl who so desperately wanted to save their Time Lord and when looking for the heart of the TARDIS, took in the time vortex instead.

Min realized she was staring at Idris with a silly grin on her face and shook her head, the bells tinkling in response. "So, may I ask what honor I have earned to have your presence?"

Idris smiled and took her hand. "You seemed overwhelmed and I thought another female who knows every face of the Doctor might help you adjust. She is still there, you know. Different, but still there." She glanced at the video monitor and it started to play again. "Yes, the twelfth regeneration of his first cycle."

"So the hand  _did_  count as regeneration. I was wondering about that because he didn't change, which means she could have stayed-"

"He met Idris as the thirteenth Doctor," Idris said, pointing to the screen to distract Min. "Do you want to see?"

She glanced at the screen and watched a very young Doctor flailing around the TARDIS console, facing down Prisoner Zero, finding the fez...

"She always did love those red toppers," Min said wistfully before turning back to Idris. "Yes, please show me, Idris TARDIS. Show me what she was  _really_ like."

"Give me your fourth bell," Idris said gently. "This was how I should have done it before."

Hesitating only a moment, Min grabbed the only strand of hair with the red bell on it and held it out to the hologram.  _The hologram._

"You can't..."

Idris grinned. "Watch me."

She pressed her pointer and middle fingers against her lips and then stretched out her hand toward the proffered bell. A thin tendril of sparkling orange light left her fingers and gently enveloped the bell, then slowly travelled up the hair strand.

Min gasped as a flash of fear ran through her, but none of the pain from before was present. Idris led her to the couch and once they were settled Min closed her eyes as she saw the world through the TARDIS' eyes.

_"What do you call me, ah... We travel. I go..." [makes the TARDIS sound]_

_"The TARDIS?"_

_"Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. Yes, that's it. Names are funny. It's me. I'm the TARDIS."_

_"No, you're not. You're a bitey mad lady."_

Min couldn't help but giggle at his utter confusion and frustration. The One  _knew_  there were times she'd wanted to bite her Doctor to make her behave!

_"The TARDIS is up and downy stuff in a big blue box."_

_"Yes, that's me. A type 40 TARDIS. I was already a museum piece when you were young. And the first time you touched my console, you said..."_

_"I said you were the most beautiful thing I'd ever known."_

_"Then you stole me. And I stole you."_

" _I borrowed you."_

_"Borrowing implies the eventual intention to return the thing that it was taken. What makes you think I would ever give you back?"_

_"You're the TARDIS."_

_"Yes!"_

_" My TARDIS!"_

_"My Doctor."_

Min opened her eyes to see Idris smiling at her as the connection faded. "My Thief has taught you well, Doll Face. Yes, I like that better than Sweet Cheeks. Much Better. How do you feel?"

"I feel quite good, actually," Min replied. "I have learned quite a bit about my abilities, and this was nothing like before. I'd like to see more if I could? And show me the rest of his companions too. Why would he hide them from me when I saw them all until the War Doctor?"

"I don't have words to explain, but you deserve to know. And you do know them, though you don't know it yet. Come, let's take an adventure!"

The companion looked around the room and strained to hear the Doctor's voice. "But won't she, I mean he be angry? I don't want to upset him."

Idris laughed, "You underestimate me, Doll Face. I know how to keep him busy for  _days._ "

"Then show me, please," Min whispered and held out the red bell once more.

-0-

Min was sitting in the 'hot seat' both literally and figuratively. It had been two days since the Doctor regenerated and she had asked him questions about their visits with Donna and Amy. She had wanted to just talk to him about his companions outright, but feared his reaction if he realized she already knew. So she tried the innocent approach and hoped he wouldn't mind-touch and know her deception.

"You seemed so familiar with them, and you were so sad. Were they companions to the male Doctor?"

He stared at Min and she felt his rage. He knew that she knew and he knew who shared with her. The Doctor took a step towards her and she dashed to the safety of the chair before he could grab any of her hair.

" _You_  told her, didn't you?" His eyes were blue flames as he turned his attention to the ship itself. "If I'd wanted to share then I would have, old girl."

The word 'LIAR' appeared on one of the view screens and all hell broke loose. He raged at the TARDIS, hitting her console, kicking cabinets and even went down below to open the hatch to her inner workings. But the TARDIS would not be baited by him.

The Doctor stood in the middle of console room and roared in rage, "How could you  _do_  this to me? You had  **no right** , do you hear? No right!"

He finally crumpled onto the stairs and wept. Min wanted to go to him but the TARDIS spoke very clearly in her head:  _STAY. LET ME HELP HIM._

"She already knew us Doctor. Your female-self took Min to meet them all, so why hide us?"

The Doctor and Min looked up in surprise to see Rose standing before him. He growled and lunged at her and the image disappeared only to reappear ten feet away.

"She had every right to know," holo-Rose said quietly with a little emotion. "You followed Rose and your tenth and eleventh selves through the universe and you never once said why you had to sneak around and not be seen."

Min could sense that the TARDIS was trying to make the hologram as real as possible by giving it emotion, and she could feel that it was pushing her system to do so.

"I don't have to tell anyone anything," the Doctor snapped back. "It's my business where I go and who I see."

"And lucky for you she can change her skin color from red to black," Martha Jones retorted. "So all you had to do was dress her in traditional African garb and voila! She fit right in. But you forgot that she's telepathic and could sense that these women were important to you, but she was too polite to ask you about it."

"Meydidoians are too polite for their own good," he grumped. "Don't want to offend anyone so they just keep their mouths shut."

"But you don't like the quiet types," Donna Noble sassed back. "So why her? Oohh, because she  _wouldn't ask._  Well isn't that wizard!"

"Stop it. Stop it I say! You're not playing fair."

"Life isn't fair," Amy Pond-Willams said. "You offered us adventure and excitement, danger and thrills. We knew there were risks, and we were willing to take them. You didn't make us do anything we didn't want to."

Before he could reply Clara Oswald appeared. "I was with you from the beginning. A leaf on the wind. Nothing by chance, the Impossible Girl. How could I not enter your time stream, Doctor? You are worth the risk; you are worth saving. Can't you see that?"

He was shaking now, his hearts racing each other to get out of his chest. His emotions were so strong he couldn't get any words out, and his companion had had enough.

"Idris TARDIS, please!"

The Doctor spun around in shock. "What... what did you call her?"

"She called me Bitey-Mad-Lady."

Idris stood before him, and the Doctor just stared at her image. Min could feel the raging emotions in him and wanted to close them off, but the TARDIS kept the door open.  _You have to feel what he does to completely understand._

He reached for the hologram, "Idris, but how?"

She smiled at him. "There isn't anything I wouldn't do for my Thief. You should know that by now." She brushed her hand across his cheek and he closed his eyes as if able to feel her touch. "Oh my Doctor, why do you continue to suffer so? Why do you think you deserve pain when all of your companions chose to be with you, no matter the cost? Rose, Donna, Martha, Amy and Rory, Clara... you made them better. Yes even Donna who lost it all and can't remember. That's why you went back and met each of them as a woman, isn't it? To see how they lived their lives and to prove to yourself that you didn't destroy them."

Idris had maneuvered him to the hot seat that Min had just vacated and sat him down. He buried his face in his hands and sobbed, allowing his hearts to break and bleed freely for the first time. Min couldn't take his pain any longer and took him in her arms, rocking him like a child. She sang a sad love song in her native tongue as her bells played the simple melody. She wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, but she knew the Doctor had never allowed any of his regenerations the peace of forgiveness. This was the first time he had ever been vulnerable in front of any companion to this degree, and she cherished the honor.

When he was able to compose himself Min took his face in her red hands. "I wish you had told me, Doctor. We could have worked together... but that is truly the past now. Idris TARDIS has shown me your companions through her eyes, but now I would like to see them through yours."

She held out the red bell to him, along with three strands of her  _lendeith_  that had blue and green bells on each.

The Doctor looked at her in utter shock and confusion. "The One will smite me where I sit if I take those and open my mind to you!"

Min laughed and shook her head. "No you laughable man! The betrothal bells are on my left side, near the nape of my neck. These are restricted to family."

"Oh. Well, that's different then. Family, hm?"

"After seven years together I would like to think we are."

He reached out for the trio and closed his fist around them. "Why do I have to show you if the TARDIS already did?"

"Because I need to see them from  _your_  eyes. Why you think it is okay to sacrifice yourself for us but not for us to reciprocate. Why do you feel unworthy of our love and devotion? Please show me."

He took the red bell, now holding all four in his right hand and closed his eyes. Min was shocked at the clarity of vision she had from him and watched as his tenth incarnation met Rose and shared in their adventures, and also the eleventh (and twelfth, though they were one and the same) Doctor's interactions with her, including their parting at Bad Wolf Bay.

Then she saw the trip to The Estates that she and the female Doctor had taken, observing from afar her eleventh incarnation with Rose, Mickey and Jackie.

" _We couldn't approach them,"_  she heard him say in her head.  _"I didn't dare mess with the timeline. And since I can't get to her alternate universe, this was the only way to see her."_

_"You loved her deeply. And then to lose her... Oh Doctor. But you gave her a precious gift in your human self."_

Something about the human Doctor niggled in the back of her brain as if she had always known about him, but she couldn't quite grasp it. Something about how he came to be...

The image switched to Martha Jones the day she met the Doctor. As Min watched his memories unfold, she realized how Martha felt about him, and just how aware he was of it, too.

_"Why didn't you just tell her you weren't interested instead of making her feel like a fool?"_

_"Because she needed to do it herself. I can't explain how I knew that, but I did. And look at how she turned out! UNIT, saving the world from the Master, and falling in love with Mickey-the-idiot. Who by the way, wasn't half bad after all."_

Min nodded as she remembered seeing Martha and Mickey Smith on their wedding day. They had just made it to the small chapel before the service started, posing as higher-ups from UNIT. It was a small affair but easy enough to blend in, and Min had felt the Doctor's pride when their dresses were complemented by Martha's mother.

"Took me days to put together the right ensemble," she whispered to Min as Mrs. Jones walked away. "Men have it so easy! A nice suit, fix your hair and bam! Done. We women however, oh what a headache!"

Martha looked stunning in a simple strapless white gown, and Mickey couldn't take his eyes off of her. After the ceremony they went back to the TARDIS and jumped ahead five or so years to find the Smiths walking in a park. Martha had a very large belly that Mickey kept placing his hand on which confused Min until the Doctor told her how humans reproduced. She had felt the Doctor's pride in them that day and now she understood it so much more.

_"They are truly happy together, because of you. How could that be a bad thing?"_

And then came Donna. He tried to shy away from it but Min drew the Doctor back to this special companion, the one the TARDIS didn't even really understand. This one was truly his best mate (right up there with Sarah Jane) and he would have done anything for her. She didn't take any of his sass or attitude and had no idea how brilliant, amazing and beautiful she really was behind that brash exterior.

 _"She really was my better half,"_ the Doctor said as he shared his memories of Donna with Min.  _"I was better with her."_

 _"She took care of you, and you took care of her,"_ Min replied. _"She understood you, I think, like I am learning to understand you now. She wanted you to allow yourself to grieve, to feel, to love. She hasn't changed, you know. When you sent me to be her companion, I could sense your feelings for her, and I knew you were watching through me. Even though she had wealth, she was still a real person. And no, I still will not apologize for bringing her to our flat that afternoon for tea; after you recovered your senses you seemed so happy to be with her. She was a special lady."_

" _You know, she told me she was nothing special, just a temp from Cheswick,"_  the Doctor said as they watched him remember how Donna fought to save the life of just one person in Pompeii, and convinced him to save Caecilius' whole family, which as it turned out was the Doctor himself. " _But she really was so much more. It's part of the reason I went to Pompeii in the first place, to watch her with different eyes. She never felt the need to prove herself, and I loved that about her. And she commanded the same respect I was given anywhere we went. Kept me in my place, she did. We were a lot alike, and I wish she could hear me say that now. Donna Noble was amazing. She saved the whole universe you know. She created my human self out of my severed hand- long story for another time- and became The Doctor-Donna."_

"Your  _ **human self**_... Doctor-Dawn-ah?  _Kalet moph_  that's it!" Min gasped and broke their connection.

"What? What did I say?"

"The song I taught you, ' _Maoah Dhawn'te Ah'_. Translated it's called 'The Queenly Dawn of Ah', the one who saved us all. Doctor, that's about Dawn-ah!"

Idris TARDIS had shown Min bits and pieces of the Doctors life with his companions, but not all of each 'story.' But now that he had mentioned the Doctor-Donna, the TARDIS showed Min what had happened with herself and Donna as she was being destroyed by the Dalek ship; how Donna touched the hand and created the human Doctor.

The Doctor looked up at her, blue eyes wide and began to sing the song in Meydidoian. After a moment he stopped, looking puzzled. "I just realized that I've always sung it in your language, and the TARDIS never translated it." He looked across the console at Idris, who just smiled.

"If I had it would have broken your hearts my dear Thief, to hear the translation. Sing it again and you shall hear what Min's world thinks of your Donna."

 _The Queenly Dawn of Ah, daughter to The One Most High,_  
 _Faced the foe of the universe wide, challenged him  
_ _And stood firm._

 _The Dhav ruse stole the worlds away to make a weapon_  
 _And destroy us all. But the child of The One would not allow  
_ _This evil to reign. She would destroy him by the Physician's Hand._

 _The battle raged and friends united, bound to save one and all._  
 _Yet the Dhav ruse locked the Dawn of Ah in a box of blue to destroy her,  
_ _And made the friends to watch as the box burned._

 _The ways of The One Most High are unknown to all, though seek Him_  
 _We may. How He caused her to wield the Hand is a mystery, but for this we_  
 _Know the Queen was born to do. She touched the Hand and gave of herself,  
_ _Freeing the box from the fire. And her power was complete._

 _For her glorious appearance, the Dawn of Physician saved our world_  
 _And so many more. The most valuable in time, shining in brilliance!  
_ _Praise we the Queenly Dawn of Ah, daughter to The One Most High._

Min had joined the Doctor on the second verse, her soprano a beautiful counter to his bass. Never had she sang the song with such feeling or heard it sound so incredibly beautiful. And for the first time in her life, she fully understood what it meant.

"I find this a most fitting remembrance," the Doctor said brusquely and waved off the handkerchief his companion offered. "It has done my hearts good to sing about her and know that she is truly revered to this day. My tears will dry on their own."

"Now you must show me all your memories of Dawn-ah, how she saved us and what the song truly means," Min insisted. "I understand it is hard, but I will share your pain and help you forgive yourself. I will ask no more of you today."

The Doctor cupped her cheek in his hand, "I never could resist your emerald eyes, Doll Face. But this could take a while, so let's go sit on that comfy couch, okay?"

It took several hours to share his memories of Donna, and with the help of Min and the TARDIS, the Doctor was able to see the good things he had done for the fiery redhead that had actually stayed with her, even after he wiped her memory. He was also able to feel less guilty about it all, though complete forgiveness would come in time.

He was so exhausted when they were done it was all Min could do to get him to his bedroom and into bed. He was asleep instantly and his companion stared lovingly at him.

"So different, yet somehow the same. We could have such fun together, but I miss  _my_  Doctor. Why did you have to go and complicate things by becoming male?"

She wandered back to her room lost in thought, trying to shake the Doctor's melancholy from her soul. But was it his melancholy or hers? The idea of traveling the universe with a man who was not her betrothed or partner bothered her more than she cared to admit, but it was something she had to face. As she crawled into her own bed, the TARDIS played several versions of ' _Maoah Dhawn'te Ah'_  to lull the companion to sleep.

The next day the Doctor offered to share the rest of his memories without her even asking. Min cried knowing that it was Donna's grandfather Wilf to whom the prophesy referred, starting the Doctor's twelfth and final regeneration. She was confused by the Pond-Williamses, especially their baby Melody, but the Doctor took extra time and care in attempting to explain what he called 'textbook wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey.' And then there was Clara, the Impossible Girl.

"Now I understand our visits with them so much more. Thank you, Doctor. I'm glad we were able to spend time with all of them, even if they didn't know who you were. Except for your  _wife_ , who was very suspicious of us."

"River is suspicious of everyone, Min."

"Well, I think I've had enough for a while. I need a nap!"

"But there is more I want to show you, Doll Face."

She shook her head. "I know you do Doctor, but my mind can't take it anymore. Please let me rest for a day or two."

He smiled at her and dashed to the TARDIS console and started flipping and toggling wildly. "Oh Sweet Doll Face Cheeks, I know exactly where to take you!"

The TARDIS responded with a shiver and a short time later they landed. "Come Min, I have just the thing for your taxed mind. Come, come!" He opened the door and led her out onto the blue grass of her home.

"Oh Doctor..."

He started to pull her along to the red stone footpath, talking all the while. "Hurry up or we'll miss your appointment with Hapteep. You have no idea what I went through to get her for you. I'll be here too of course, but our paths will not cross. They have promised me we won't see each other until tomorrow night."

Min couldn't even respond to that. Not only had the Doctor taken her home, but he arranged for her to have a  _qui'nah sel_ , what he would call a 'spa day' with the premier  _qui'net_  in the capitol. She realized now that he had landed in the gardens of the  _qui_  and was leading her to the main building's back entrance, reserved for special guests and royalty. After what she had been through the past several days, she wasn't going to argue about anything he signed her up for; she deserved it all!

-0-

It was evening when they met again at the TARDIS and Min felt like she had gone through her own regeneration. The Doctor looked refreshed as well, but there was tension in his eyes; she knew something was wrong.

"What is it Doctor? Don't hide anything from me."

"You were always too smart for your own good, Doll Face."

There was a sadness that frightened her because she recognized it as the same feeling she'd had a few days ago. He had spoken to the Elders.

"I won't beat around the bush Min. I know what your faith means to you, and many, many times I pushed you to do things and go places you never would have considered because you trusted the woman I was. Maybe I was a bit callous toward your faithfulness to The One, but I respected your faith as best I could. It was scandalous enough that as a woman I called you," he paused and glanced around before whispering, "Sweet Cheeks. But now that I'm male... I'm so sorry Min."

"I will miss you."

If he was surprised by her ready acceptance he didn't show it. "Yes, and well you should my dear. But I want you to know that I pled my case to the Elders in a calm and equitable fashion. And while they agreed that yes, I was the same person you left with but now male, you might not feel comfortable traveling with a man you were not married to. I asked for special compensation for us but they refused to give it."

Min nodded sadly and reached for his hand. "I accept the decision of the Elders, and know in my heart that The One has made His will known. Thank you for everything, Doctor."

He pulled her close and gave her a fierce hug, then took her face in his hands and kissed her on the forehead. Then he turned and opened the door to the TARDIS and stepped inside.

The bells of her  _lendeith_  jingled sadly as she watched him go. " _Minad at plu'kao, Doctor."_

He paused in the doorway at the blessing and smiled. "Thank you, Maoah Min, for healing my hearts and showing me my worth."

The Doctor winked at her as he closed the TARDIS door, and a moment later he was gone. Min looked at the empty space and shook her head, the bells in her hair laughing along with her. He was a clever man. But she much preferred the clever woman before him if for no other reason than she would still be traveling the universe with her.


End file.
